Higher-Education Programs Are Among Targets of Planned Federal Budget Freeze

Following up on a pledge to freeze spending unrelated to national security over the next three years, the White House is asking federal agencies to offer plans to shave 5 percent from their budgets by eliminating their worst-performing programs, and among them are some connected to higher education.

At a news conference on Tuesday, Peter R. Orszag, President Obama’s budget director, singled out mathematics and science education, youth mentoring, and job training for cuts, noting that the federal government offers more than 110 programs focused on science, technology, engineering, and math education, 100 mentoring programs, and 40 employment programs.

“This redundancy wastes resources and makes it harder to act on each of these worthy goals,” Mr. Orszag said.

The budget director’s comments came just hours before hundreds of high-school students were scheduled to rally on Capitol Hill for additional aid for the TRIO college-preparatory programs. President Obama has proposed no increase in the $910-million budget for TRIO programs, which help guide financially needy students into and through college. Supporters of the program argue that more money is needed to help the president reach his goal of expanding college access.